Very few people are now in doubt as to the future of the newspaper industry. Very few people believe its future lies in print. 2011 was another year of newspaper casualties, both local and national, all across the western world. However, some newspapers are still smiling, due mainly to their enormous online reach.
The Guardian just broke its own web traffic record for the second month in a row. Daily average unique browsers stand at 3,669,492, up 59.1% from November 2010 and up 12.9% from October 2011. Monthly unique browsers now stand at 63,589,633, up 55.8% from November 2010 and up 4.4% from October 2011. The Daily Mail’s online figures are the envy of the publishing world.
Below is a chart of the most-read newspaper sites across Europe (June 2011), taken from the excellent Ofcom International Communications Market Report 2011. A must read for media students and media professionals. Download from here.
2012 will be an interesting year for Ireland’s remaining newspapers. The Irish Times, for example, is once again looking at how it can monetise its online offering in the face of falling hard copy sales. It will be an interesting battle to watch.

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